The Columbus Film Office brought together local creators from across the entertainment spectrum Feb. 19 at The Loft in Columbus for the Columbus Creators Mixer, an evening designed to connect storytellers, expand the office’s reach beyond traditional film production and spotlight resources available to the region’s growing creative community.
The mixer marked a public launch of the film office’s broadened scope, which now encompasses gaming, music, podcasting and digital content creation alongside traditional film. Columbus Film Commissioner Joel Slocumb said the shift reflects both national trends and the needs he has heard directly from local creators.
“We saw those doors begin to open, and the demand from what we were hearing from national and state levels,” Slocumb said. “After many conversations, we decided to encompass that into what we are doing.”
The evening centered on two fireside chats exploring different dimensions of the creative industry. The first, “How to Become a Storyteller,” featured Paul Pierce, longtime producing artistic director of the Springer Opera House, and playwright and screenwriter Topher Payne, a three-time Gene-Gabriel Moore Playwriting Award winner whose work has been produced worldwide.
“If the story that you’re telling matters to you, whether they ever make the movie, the TV show, etc., you are fundamentally changed, because you are doing something that matters to you,” Payne said.
The second session, “The Economics of Storytelling,” featured Slocumb alongside Carrie Sharpe, a financial controller and production accountant with more than 22 years of experience managing film and television budgets ranging from $4 million to more than $200 million.
Sharpe urged attendees to network and attend film festivals to connect with people, then leverage connections to help stay on budget. She cited the example of partnering with a friend’s coffee shop to provide coffee in a scene, a move that promoted the business while keeping production costs down.
Attendees also received information on the Local Filmmakers Grant Program, which opened for applications in January and offers five grants of $10,000 each. A representative was on hand to walk attendees through the application process; applications are being accepted through the end of March.
Slocumb said the event was designed to demonstrate the full range of the office’s support.
“We want the community and industry to be aware of the support our office is able to provide,” he said. “That’s one of the purposes of this event: to demonstrate what we can offer and to potentially connect them with other creators who can support them on their journey.”
The film office’s local focus runs alongside continued efforts to attract outside productions. Columbus offers an incentive of up to $300,000 for larger productions and continues to promote locations including the Chattahoochee RiverWalk, the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center, Patton Barracks, downtown venues and private residences.
Slocumb said the mixer reflected a broader belief that cultivating local talent provides a more stable foundation for long-term growth in Columbus’s creative economy.
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Red Carpet Images provided by Shootworks
Photos by: Jennifer Reynolds, Crizz Quinn, Purple Sky Media, Shootworks
